News and Insights

Provoke Global Summit 2023: Bringing Hope Through Disruption

November 6, 2023

Flooding. Fires. Famine. Droughts. The hottest summer on record and unprecedented weather events and natural disasters. The planet is trying to tell us to change course. According to the United Nations, the scientific evidence of climate change is unequivocal, and “any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a livable future.” With climate change, incrementalism is not enough to turn the tide of devastation if we don’t act now. We need bold, business-savvy innovators seeking to improve the status quo and champion its transformation to benefit future generations.

Having attended several climate change summits, I have seen the calls for change and the pace of progress. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned. The pace of innovation and implementation compared to worrisome data in the latest scientific reports can be overwhelming and depressing. They can lead some to believe nothing will change. The truth is that change is not a solo pursuit. Governments cannot do it alone. Innovation in the private sector has the potential to fast-track change that paves the way for widespread adoption. There are many lessons to be learned from the renewable energy industry and the regenerative agriculture movement.

That is why I am excited to moderate a session at the Provoke Global Summit and sit in the hub of change-makers addressing society’s pressing sustainability needs. This week, communications professionals and practitioners gather alongside business leaders and media to address our collaborative role in communicating the facts and inspiring action and impact.

This year, FINN has sponsored a panel titled The Disruptors Playbook: Audacious Solutions to the Urgent Climate Crisis featuring Syd Kitson, the Chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, who developed the first fully solar-powered town in America, and Brad Laporte, CEO of WinCup, one of the top plastic engineers in the country and developer of phade, the first marine biodegradable plant-based straw. These business innovators are defining a new path where sustainability and nature are prioritized.  They present sustainable and economically viable solutions with the essential ability to replicate and scale, enlist partners and demonstrate doing good for the world is in harmony with doing good business. We will discuss the playbook of what it takes to build from the ground up and create new standards and industry-wide influence.

I’m looking forward to exploring their approach and gaining a clear sense of how they leverage research and analytics to define a path into the market. Innovation is limitless. But the ability to scale is where the magic happens. We must take the time to share challenges and achievements to learn and inspire hope that it is possible to create a better tomorrow that is sustainable, equitable and prosperous.

POSTED BY: Brianne Chai-Onn

Brianne Chai-Onn